Always hungry
Even after quitting sugar?

Ladies, I need some advice.I quit sugar about 10 weeks ago. I've done it before and am totally fine and loving life without it.However, I do feel like since then I am always hungry! I try so hard to eat a lot of protein rich foods - I drink a lot of milk (my favourite) and tend to snack on nuts, eggs and try and include some protein in every meal. Nevertheless, I always feel hungry! If anything, I feel like I eat more when I'm sugarfree than I did before.A typical day for me is:Breakfast - 600mls milk, a piece of multigrain toast with bacon and avocadoSnack - handful of cashewsLunch - burrito wrap with brown rice, slow cooked beef and saladSnack - handful of pumpkin and sunflower seedsDinner - tonight was a 6 egg omelet with ham, mushrooms,cheese and capsicum

And now its 11pm and I'm starving! I often find myself having a large glass of milk before bed.

I haven't lost any weight since quitting sugar but that wasn't my intention, I did it to have more energy and for mental health reasons. It has had mental health benefits but I haven't seen a huge improvement in the energy levels that I expected.

What am I doing wrong? Any thoughts? TIA.

ETA I am quite active during the day - on my feet all day working retail and cycle 15mins either way to and from work.

You need more vegetables in your diet, steam some and add for dinner and perhaps have an extra piece of toast in the morning. Also add some fruit in your diet too, maybe an apple for morning tea, bananas also help in filling you so maybe have that in the afternoon.

make sure you read each word and click on all the links (there are about 2 or 3 links).

when you figure out your caloric target for weight loss, try and stick to that by using myfitnesspal or sparkpeople to track what you eat.

take note that if you constantly undereat, your body will actually NOT lose any weight as your body will think it's starving so it'll hold on to everything you eat. you must eat properly and the right amount of calories to see results (coupled with exercise).

I would be starving if i ate that too. Get some vege sticks to munch on through the day which will help up your bulk. What about some natural yogurt for a snack with your nuts or you could have it for dessert. I find it feels more like eating than just a glass of milk and makes me feel more satisfied. I agree to check out how many calories you should be eating and measure what you eat for a week. I actually found that i ate 200 calories a day over what was recommended as i was starving and still lost weight, so listen to your body as well as what is advised.

Eat MORE protein. Eat it as the main for breakfast, lunch and dinner - not as an added extra.

So for breakfast it could be 1 chicken breast with tomatoes and mushrooms, lunch could be tuna and salad, dinner could be beef and salad. Cut down on the starchy carbs as well your body converts those to sugar too and wheat stimulates your appetite just like sugar does, which is why it's added to almost everything as well. Make sure you consume 2 tablespoons of olive oil a day for good health and proper brain functioning - the brain is 60-70% fat and it NEEDS good fat to work properly longterm.

Milk is also very high in sugar- as in it changes to sugar quickly in the body, so maybe you are craving it to replace sugar.

I think the OP is referring to added fructose (that's the one i have a problem with anyway! Bloating, low mood, energy issues) and milk has none of that.

I too think you should try eating more till you're not hungry, especially vegies and carbs, especially if you're on your feet all day. Maybe try that for a few weeks and if there's no change in hunger/energy levels then I'd see a doctor.

This is another website from the Vic government with a calculator to figure out your kilojoule needs for your age/height/weight/activity http://8700.com.au/ I looked up the bushwalking one and found that during one stage of a multiday I did at Easter, the exercise required as many kJ as my basal needs. As I said to my walking companion, "No wonder we felt like eating each other..."

If you're happy to eat fruit (not sure what your fructose limitations are), I'd recommend a bowl of natural yoghurt with some chopped up fruit like apple, banana etc. You could also sprinkle your pumpkin seeds etc over the yoghurt.

What about more fibre? Supposedly that fills you up, regulates the insulin, etc. So maybe more veg, or a high fibre breakfast cereal, or even fibre supplements?I've been snacking on snow peas lately and it's had me too full to eat a real meal a lot of the time.

I also quit sugar recently and found that if my meal didn't have enough good fats (like avo, coconut oil, eggs) then I am hungry between meals too.

Hope that helps!

I quit sugar over a year ago and agree with adding more saturated fats to your diet. Fat keeps you feeling fuller for longer and is necessary for proper brain function. We eat heaps of coconut oil, butter, cheese, full fat yoghurt etc. I'd avoid so much milk as it's low in fat, so won't keep you full for long. I take my coffee with cream now instead of milk and find that I don't feel hungry for hours after having it. It makes it good for those times when I just want to eat "something".

We now eat LCHF (low carb, high fat) which seems to be a natural progression after cutting out fructose. I rarely snack as I just don't have that level of hunger that I still had after quitting sugar. LCHF means no grains, so you get the added bonus of removing wheat, which acts like sugar in the body and stimulates appetite. I feel the healthiest I've ever felt, even better than just being fructose free.

I know its not the same im currently loosing weight & eat 6 times a day. Protien just doesnt come from meat. I eat cottage cheese with tomato on rice thins as a snack at night, fruit & yoghurt fir a day time snack, igh fibre cereal with milk, cranberries, prunes, grapes for brrakfast, celery or carrot or fruit for another snack, meat, veggie for dinner and once a week stirfry with quinoa 2 eggs be it poached or hard boiled with wholegrain bread or peanut butter with bsnsna on toast and lots if water through the day.

google "BMR" calculator and "harris benedict equation". these are formulas that will allow you to calculate your basal metabolic rate (cals burned by just being alive) and # cals you need to eat per day for weight loss. once you find this out, start tracking your meals using myfitnesspal or sparkpeople.

it doesn't seem like you're eating enough during the day. a good base for each meal is about 300-350 cals and you should eat 5 times a day, totalling 1500-1600cals. then top up with "food blocks" of 100-200cal snacks to hit your target calories. this is something i learned from the insanity program.

do not be afraid to eat your calories. this is a mistake many people make -- that eating 1800cals (if this is what you need), will make them gain weight when in fact, when you constantly under-eat your calories and are active, your body will hold onto everything you eat and immediately store it as fat.

People here are saying you arent having enough protein? Thats crazy, you seem to be having a very large amount of protein. Milk, eggs and beef are all very high in protein, and you are having protein rich snacks as wel too.

If I were you I would increase the amount of low GI carbs and vegies. They will fill you up and will take away the cravings. Maybe have an extra piece of toast in the mornings.

I agree with most of the PP's advice.Especially about the milk. Dairy can cause effects on insulin levels exactly the same way sugar does so that wont be helping your hunger. Sounds like your hunger hormones are out of wack. Here is a good blog on hunger and craving hormones..

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